Local boxer Blake Wells is now the Victorian Middleweight Champion after a hard-fought victory last Thursday at the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne.
Wells went toe-to-toe with tough Werribee-based Tongan, Apai Cook, over eight rounds getting the fight by a split points decision.
Two judges scored the fight 76-75 to the advantage of Wells, while the other went with Cook, 76-75.
The fight was beamed across the country on pay television, the result delighting Wells’ coach, Paul Carroll.
“It was a tough fight, the fight of the night on a great card, in front of a huge crowd. It could have gone either way, but Blake finished strong and we got the win,” Carroll said.
Wells will continue to work hard in the gym over the next month while his focus goes to the pending birth of his first child, with partner Abbey due in October.
Wells worked extremely hard to make the transition to middleweight, which is up to 12 kilograms lighter than he has fought on some occasions in the past.
Despite the southpaw Wells having a 10-centimetre height advantage and four centimetre reach superiority, Cook was relentless in his approach, taking the fight right up to the East Gippslander.
He was especially brutal on the body, not allowing Wells to box in his usual smooth and tactical way from a distance.
Wells looked in control early in the fight, but Cook began to make his move in the third round, the first round he likely claimed outright.
On occasions Cook was prone to drop his hands and it cost him in the fourth round, when he was knocked to the canvas, but he was quickly up smiling.
Cook worked hard in the following round, to the body and head, a nick opening above the right eye of Wells as the body punches continued.
Carroll encouraged Wells to use his better boxing IQ at the end of sixth round, as Cook continued to work hard to try and get back in the contest.
Wells copped plenty of punishment, but just when it looked like he was done, he would respond with scoring counter punches, which were enough to see him home in a thriller.
Commentator, Barry Michael, was big wrap for the punching power of Cook, making the win even more impressive.
“One of the best body punchers I’ve seen in ages,” Michael said.
To cap off a big night for the local boxing camp, Liam Reynolds was successful in his second professional fight, stopping Deng Mawut Atem with a huge combination in the fourth round.
Reynolds was fighting as a cruiserweight and after comfortably winning the first two
rounds, he wore a shot in third and had to dig deep to stay on his feet and regain his composure.
In the fourth round he landed a deadly upper cut, which was followed shortly after by big right hook, which ended the fight prematurely, much to the delight of Carroll.
“Liam’s a great puncher, he just needs to tidy up a bit defensively, but he’s got a big future,” Carroll said.
Reynolds and another of Carroll’s fighters, Max Reeves, will fight on a Will Tomlinson Wildfighter program in either late November or early December in Melbourne.
Reynolds will likely vie for a Victorian title. Reeves is close to full fitness after a recent hand injury has restricted his training.
